An unlicensed grain broker who opened the Bentley, Alta., elevator doesn’t plan to repeat the experience of the previous owner, who declared bankruptcy.
Greg Purves of Westcan Feed and Grain, based in Grande Prairie, Alta., said his company buys heated grain and light or mixed grain that large grain companies won’t accept. He owns the company with his brother, Gary.
He said they believe they don’t need to be licensed. Westcan buys grain from farmers, resells it to feedlots and will be operating the Bentley elevator in central Alberta as a storage facility.
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“If we did producer cars and graded grain, fine, but we don’t.”
Paul Graham, information officer with the Canadian Grain Commission, said Westcan has filled out the commission’s mode of operations form and based on that, he believes Westcan should be licensed.
“We’ve asked them to get a licence and they have not been co-operative,” said Graham. The commission has had no complaints about Westcan but has had two inquiries from farmers asking if Westcan was licensed.
“We very definitely do want them to apply for a licence, no question about that,” said Graham.
The Canada Grain Act prohibits individuals from operating a grain elevator unless it is licensed by the commission as a grain dealer or issued a grain licence.
“If farmers in the Bentley area are doing business with them and they’re not licensed, or not secured, if they don’t get paid there’s nothing the grain commission can do to help them,” said Graham.
The commission spent two years writing letters to the previous owner of the Bentley elevator requesting he become licensed, to no avail.
If a licensed grain company goes out of business, farmers are covered for money owed.
Companies that want to become licensed must provide audited financial statements, articles of incorporation, copies of grain receipts, at least $150,000 of security and operating lines of credit.
Purves said farmers with concerns about Westcan’s viability are referred to the company’s banker or previous customers for reference checks.
“We make deals and we stand by our deals,” said Purves.
“Whatever happened to old-fashioned values?
“We both have good reputations personally. Why would we want to rip people off,” said Purves, a former bank manager. Gary is a former Alberta Wheat Pool grain buyer.
“If you rip people off you’re not going to be around for a long time,” Greg said.
Westcan lost $8,000-$10,000 when the elevator’s previous owner All Grain (Alberta) Ltd., declared bankruptcy.
In November, Westcan bought the former UGG grain elevator in Bentley. All Grain, an unlicensed grain company, owned the elevator and a nearby seed cleaning plant last year before it declared bankruptcy and left farmers, truck drivers and others, including Westcan, out more than $350,000.
All Grain bought heated or low-quality grain from farmers and resold it to feedlots, or cleaned it and resold it to grain companies.
Gary Broenner, an Andrew, Alta., farmer who lost money when All Grain declared bankruptcy, said he’s concerned farmers will believe the elevator is now licensed and that they have security if the company fails.
“The only people hurt at the end of the day when a company is not licensed is the producers,” said Broenner.
There is little the commission can do to encourage companies to become licensed, said Graham. The commission does have the power to call the department of justice and ask the RCMP to lay charges under the Canada Grain Act, but it rarely does that. Instead the commission writes letters encouraging grain companies to become licensed.
